Tuesday, September 8, 2009

We had a few friends over for a smoked rib barbecue for Labor Day. Did I mention we bought a smoker? Matt has been wanting one for awhile now but they one he wanted was almost $200. We were at the hardware store the other day & I suggested we see if smokers were on sale when we saw the Brinkmann "El Cheapo."This little guy was only $40 & according to a lot of folks on the web quite a smoker. We've used it twice now, once for chicken & once for ribs & have been thrilled with the results. I actually think we may have sold two last night to the folks who came to dinner.

Now on to dinner. We bought some beautiful baby back pork ribs & Matt rubbed them with the Black Espresso Rub from Mastering the Grill. Then placed them in the smoker. After about 3 - 3 1/2 hours of smoking over low heat he brushed on the Espresso Barbecue Sauce he made & let them smoke for another hour.

These ribs were fabulous. Smoky, zesty & juicy. They weren't fall off the bone (we could have smoked them a little longer to get to that point) but they were tender & perfectly cooked. All of our guests loved them. The espresso cut the overwhelming ketchup flavor so many bbq sauces can have and added a real depth of flavor. The chipotle gave it a nice bite without being too hot. Matt calls this a quick sauce since he used onion & garlic powder in it instead of using fresh & then pureeing it.

25 comments:

That smoker look awesome! I have a puny, pan-like stovetop version that's good enough for a couple of chops but imagine what I could do with this! (Do you think colder weather affects its performance?)

Oh yum! I've been wanting a smoker for a couple of years now, but always miss them when they're on summer clearance (and don't want to spend the $200 on them either). Was the $40 regular priced? I'll have to go looking for this one - what a deal! The ribs look amazing, btw!

You can make a very unique smoker from scratch for that price tag that will have considerable wow-factor as well as insulate your heat and MOISTURE well. I have a Green Egg but this is just as functional!!

Phil - We saw that Alton Brown episode too. We actually did think of making our own but couldn't pass this up for the price. It does have a liquid tray in it so moisture is not a problem. Have to say we are envious of the Big Green Egg...someday

Anonoymous - Use as much as you would think would have 2 T of the ground espresso in it. You don't want to lose the intensity of the espresso flavor. Keep in mind this is going to add more liquid to the sauce & it will need to simmer longer to thicken in order to cook out the water.

Socaldinah - You can of course cook ribs on the grill without a smoker & use this sauce. They won't have the same smoky flavor but still be good. You can get a little metal box to go in your grill with wood chips in it to add more smoky flavor as well. If you are looking for a technique for ribs without a smoker check out our recipe for my Dad's Memphis Ribs, http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2008/06/dads-memphis-ribs.html